​Identity Fraud

What is Identity Fraud?

Identity fraud is simply theft of your identity. It is when someone uses your personal information such as your name, your Identity Number or other identifying information, to commit fraud or other crimes.

This information can be stolen from your home, car, your wallet and criminals will even go through your rubbish bins to obtain details from documents. Cyber-crime is on the increase, and personal and confidential information can be obtained via the internet, emails, spoofed websites and even social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Types of Identity Fraud

Phishing: Use of email “phishing” scams requesting you to provide your private and confidential information via a website link is a key tool currently used by these conmen. SARS will never ask you for information such as your eFiling details (login details, passwords, pins, credit/debit card information, etc.) in an email or over the phone.

Refund Scams: An identity thief can use a legitimate taxpayer’s identity to fraudulently file a tax return and claim a refund. Another threat is that the criminal makes use of your information to change the banking details on your profile. See some examples of scams and phishing.

Identity Theft: The latest scam involves taxpayers being called by a person alleging to be a SARS employee, to inform them that SARS owes them money. SARS will never notify you about refunds by telephone or email.

Fake SARS auditors/employees: Scam artists pretending to be SARS auditors/employees contact businesses to inform them that they are under investigation and that an audit is going to be conducted. The business is then provided with a fake letter supposedly from the Audit Section, requesting the client to provide full co-operation with the “auditor or employee”.

Identifying a Possible Scam

Be alert to possible identity theft if you receive a notice or letter from SARS that states that:

More than one tax return has been filed in your name

You have a balance due, refund offset or have had collection actions taken against you for a year you did not file a tax return, or

SARS records indicate you received a salary from an employer that you don’t work for

You receive a letter/email or fax claiming to be from SARS, informing you that there has been a payment error and you have been refunded incorrectly. The criminal requests you to deposit the “overpayment” into a bank account